SA02E07
Summary * Gabriel Santos receives a transmission from the U.S.S. Asimov which he assumes will be his father cancelling... but it's actually just advising that he made it to Utopia Planitia and in 36 hours time he will be in San Fransisco. * Gabriel is clearly nervous about his father coming, as he'll finally have to say face to face that he's quit medical school and is doing a different major, breaking the family tradition. ** He remembers his 8th birthday when he got given a toy Medical Tricorder and Starfleet Medical outfit, so keen he was to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (not to mention his uncle and his mother.) * Vladimir Kurtz takes Gabriel to Porthos' Bar for a breakfast pint and suggests how he'd solve this problem with his charm and charisma - but ends up going on an unhelpful tangent, saying more about his own awkward relationship with his father. * Gabriel takes a walk past the library where Ranjen Bant offers his own solution... but he has ulterior motives, more interested in getting Gabriel's dad to supply him with more Red Ice on prescription * At lunch with his uncle Raphael, Gabriel confesses the pressure he feels not to disappoint his father and how he can best break the news that he is now a history graduate (and unlikely to get a posting on the Rapid Deployment Force). * Back at the dorm room, Leo Moraeu tells Gabriel he should deal with it like a POW camp interrogation and what starts lucid degenerates into suggestions about digging tunnels, resisting torture and a general PTSD flashback. * Gabriel can't be bothered with this so hides in his room for a bit, where Abigail Merton brings him a soothing mug of Chamomile tea.... and another nonsensical battle plan, this time based on her assumption that everyone has a posh "old money" family like hers with brandy, butlers and a mysterious relationship to a Marjorie. * Gabriel can't take it anymore and goes to the park for some quiet time... where he meets Selin, who sees the cadet is troubled but assumes it's about exam season and shares some stories about his own life to try and soothe him. * Ranjen speaks to one of Astraea's brothers by subspace, asking if he can do anything to get him sent over some more Red Ice. * Back at Porthos', Astraea joins Gabriel in a drink and shares her own advise - coloured by her own assumption that everything always works out in the end: and of course has Astraea in a starring role. * The day of the visit comes and all Gabriel's room-mates realise that they have all given advise... but that maybe their advise wasn't the best. ** Astraea discusses with Abigail that she thinks it might be time for her to start dating again, while Abigail looks at her engagement ring and ponders her own relationship status. * Gabriel meets his father and.... the big revelation isn't as big a disaster as he hoped. * Selin watches from afar and considers that "There are eight million stories in the Star Fleet: this was one of them" as he adjusts his collar. Details * Each proposed plan for Gabriel is played out as a flashback, in the style of a different kind of television or film genre ** Vladimir Kurtz: American sitcom, in the style of Happy Days ** Ranjen Bant: stoner film, in the style of Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas ** Leo Moraeu: World War 2 film, in the style of The Great Escape ** Abigail Merton: American soap opera, in the style of Dallas ** Astraea: Hollywood musical, in the style of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ** Selin: film noir, in the style of The Maltese Falcon * First mention of Selin's wife, T'Siram, who has poor health and prefers planet-side postings.